Sunday, February 8, 2015

Sunday Message for Christians who Believe in Public Prayer

Dear Conservative Christian,

Thank you for joining me a second week
in a row, friend, for this special Sunday message. Last week we
covered Matthew
25, and the moocher nation. Today, at the kindly suggestion of
DailyKos user zenbassoon, we shall return to Matthew. This time,
we'll open our Bibles to chapter
6.

The topic is the hypocrisy inherent to
open displays of religiosity -- and, dear conservative reader, I must
give you fair warning: you may be a little alarmed by what your dear
Lord and Savior has to say on the matter.

1 Take heed that ye do not your alms
before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your
Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy
left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and
thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen
of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter
into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain
repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be
heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them:
for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask
him.

Alright, I trust you've had sufficient
opportunity to pick yourself up off the floor after that shock? Good. So, let's dive
into the substance of this piece. What is Jesus saying?

Well, in a nutshell, that insisting on
praying in public is hypocritical showmanship. Boasting about how
charitable you are is too. The prayer rallies, the public prayers
before meetings, the national days of prayer...all this religiosity
in the public square, that conservatives insist must
happen for the sake of our nation, is actually hypocritical
and runs contrary to the will of God. People who do that do not
actually garner God's good will. I mean, at least if you take the
word of the radical speaking in Matthew 6 as truth (who was that guy
again?).

The right way to pray is to do it in
private, in seclusion, without audiences (and cameras and publicity).
I know, that's disappointing...how can you show off just how much the
Bible means to you, if you're forced to act like you believe it?!
Still, according to the Bible, it's the people who pray in secret who
can look forward to rewards from heaven; the hypocrites who have to show
off as they pray are out of luck.

And that, beloved, is our Sunday
message. Check back next week for another – and thanks to all who
offered suggestions!